This Artist Transforms US Banknotes Into Hilarious Portraits

Any artwork associated with the ‘almighty dollar’ carries extra meaning. On the surface, manipulation of currency in any form is illegal. So any tampering, even a simple doodle, is a form of rebellion. The deeper you go, the narrative ‘gets richer’, raising questions about society’s value of the dollar and what it means to each person.

Now when you intertwine all of the symbolism and meaning of money with popular culture and the icons that embody it, your head starts to explode with what it can all mean :) Here for your artistic enjoyment are twenty, dollar bill artworks by JAMES CHARLES, who debuted this incredible collection at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco, California.

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Culture Cash: Dollar Bill Art by James Charles

As of last year, artist James Charles has been engrossed in an interesting new project; small in scale…but large in depth. He began drawing on dollar bills, for the sake of his own amusement; crudely altering the presidents’ faces to become monsters, celebrities, etc. After accidentally spending a few of his early pieces, James decided to stop carrying them in his wallet, and started putting them inside of a magazine for safe-keeping. The magazine folder eventually became a large scrapbook, showcasing bills of all denominations. He found ink and materials to match perfectly what the U.S. Mint uses on the bank notes, and began to experiment with ways to alter the font and script along the bottom of the bills. It became the perfect way for James to inject an additional layer of wit.

Altering currency in this way also poses questions regarding the true value of paper bills, something made with seemingly insignificant materials – that somehow fuels our country’s ever-shifting economy, and ultimately impacts living conditions around the globe. James has put a wrench in the recirculation process by claiming his role as an artist, and declaring these specific bills are not currency, but art objects.